THIS RESTAURANT IS CLOSED Stage Delicatessen Restaurant Review

: With virtually every item on the menu named for a celebrity, from the Martha Stewart Chef Salad to the Pete Sampras Sliced Steak, the Carnegie’s archrival has no qualms about bidding for the tourist dollar. But that doesn’t stop locals from lining up for their share of the massive (if expensive) open-face sandwiches, homemade soups (the borscht is a perennial favorite) and smoked fish platters. The knishes, both round and square, are must-try. Other standout starters include chopped liver, creamed herring and the chicken soup. And, in its bid for New Yorkers’ affections, the Stage’s piles of lean, juicy corned beef between two pieces of doughy rye bread give the sandwich and New York delis a good name. The pastrami, however, while ample and tasty, loses to Carnegie by a nose.